The Queen and the god
by LunaRS
Summary: "For all your murderous intent, for all your vices against the Midgardians, and for all your transgressions...To the dungeon with you, until further punishment has been arranged." Odin had spoken... Loki turned his head and spread another wide grin across his face as he was led away... Loki & OC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers. Enjoy **

A roar of screaming outraged people rose to his ears. He smiled from behind the metal muzzle bitterly; he had come home, as a defeated criminal. Out of the corners of his deep emerald eyes he saw hateful glares, screaming mouths; he heard scornful sneers, appalled gasps, and saddened sighs.

The prisoners long black hair was unkempt and strewn about his pale face as the bulky figure of his captor trudged along behind him, one arm on his shoulder pushing him forward while the other grasped a shimmering metal hammer.

"Welcome home, brother." The one with the hammer said with dismal effort in his deep voice. The prisoner sighed quietly so that his captor did not hear. _'I am not your brother' _he thought bitterly as he stared ahead at the howling citizens, walking forward in that regal room of thrones towards his judge; the ruler who would establish and declare the punishment for the lowly prisoner: that resplendent being that this prisoner had once known as a father.

The captor nudged the convict forward once more, seeing him wavering in his footsteps, until they reached the four golden thrones at the end of that kingly hall. The Allfather gazed down at the prisoner, causing him to wince slightly. It was not from hate or scorn or even sympathy in that gaze; it was the mere exposition that it was filled with disappointment. It tore at the captive's heart, bringing up emotions that had long since been tossed away. Yet as suddenly as those feelings of craved wishes for redemption had come, so then were they once again torn out of heart and mind as the captive was determined to harden his very being towards the Allfather; after all, it was _he_ who raised him as a boy wrapped in lies.

"Thor." the Allfather acknowledged the captor with a friendly nod.

"Loki…" a sweeter voice whispered from behind Odin. The captive grimaced slightly and looked down, hoping that neither Thor nor Odin had seen.

"Heimdall has informed me of every occurrence on Midgard in the past fortnight," Odin started in a weary tone. Every Asgardian hushed their voices as their King began to speak, all turning a watchful ear to every word that was uttered from Odin's lips. Thor pulled the muzzle off of Loki's mouth and threw it on the tiled floor with a loud 'clang!'.

"For all your murderous intent," Odin's voice began to get louder and his tone thickened and became deepened.

"All your vices against the Midgardians," Loki glanced at Frigga, the wife of Odin, wishing to see how she reacted to his actions and the accusations made against them. Their eyes met, and for a slight moment, he saw disappointment and horror in those gentle eyes. It pained Loki to see her like that and he could not hold her gaze for more than a few seconds before he turned his eyes down to the gold-lined floor once again. He could not explain why yet he did not wish to ever disappoint her; in her eyes, he only sought her pride in him, some hint of love; he craved her approval, yet he was inclined to go without it, for at least awhile longer. He looked up again and a sour grin widened on his face.

"For your transgressions…" Odin's voice wavered slightly; Loki could tell he was at a loss for what to do. _'Such a tired old King, and so weak.' _Loki thought to himself, almost triumphantly.

"To the dungeon with you, until further punishment has been arranged." Odin had spoken. Thor bowed jerkily and led Loki away towards the dungeon. Loki turned his head and spread another wide grin across his face as he was led away, watching Odin and Frigga's faces fall in utter disappointment in their son.

"You fool!" roared Thor, pounding a clenched fist against the harder-than-iron bars that stood between him and Loki.

"Why must you pain us so?! What have we ever done to you to make you lash out at us?"

Loki did not utter a word and instead stared at Thor with a stone cold expression.

"What could I have possibly done to have caused this?" Thor said mostly to himself than to Loki.

Loki moved his lips as if to speak but found no words utter.

After a few moments, Thor left the dungeon, glancing back at him with pity.

Silence.

Loki grabbed one of the prison bars and rested his head against it. A single tear managed to slip down his cheek before he angrily wiped it away so that the guard at the door would not see it. He leaned away from the bars and stood in the middle of his cell, running a hand through his slick black hair slowly. He stared at the guard at the door, who in turn watched him warily, and, with a grin and a few indiscernible words, vanished.


	2. Alfheim

**Authors note: Hiya! Sorry it's been a while before I wrote this next chapter~ Also, if any of you readers have ideas for this story, I would love to consider them! Enjoy~**

It had been four days since he had escaped from that Asgardian prison; Loki was filled with indignant pride when he mused on how he had escaped Odin's wrath in his time of weakness.

'_Such power held by such a weak old man…'_ he thought scornfully.

Loki, although very powerful in the ways of enchantments, had not, however, completely mastered the magic of portals and did not know where he was, even _after_ wandering around aimlessly for the past four days. He did not encounter much, only a few strange looking creatures that seemed peaceful enough, and strange trees with even stranger fruits ripening on their pale and thin branches. Loki was almost tempted to consume one of the plump sickly-colored harvests, yet paranoia held his hand back; the Chitauri leader was intending to exact revenge on Loki and Midguard, after his previous short-comings a fort-night ago, so that fruit might very well be poison; also all of Asgard was after him, and the thought of stopping even for nourishment rattled his nerves. He would not be captured again.

Loki halted suddenly, his hearing keen. There it was again; a crunching footstep behind. Loki whipped around to see…nothing. He barely breathed, trying to listen to every little sound around him; his heart pounded loudly in his ears.

Another crack.

Loki whispered a single word and he became many; his likenesses crowded around, each looking in another direction, and all drawing a golden dagger from their right sleeves.

"How did you do that?" a small voice inquired. All of the copies of Loki turned swiftly to where the voice had come, all pointing their daggers at the source. The little voice belonged to a young boy with pure white skin, golden brown hair, and slitted orange eyes; he stepped out from behind one of the trees.

"Do you know lots of magic?" the boy's voice was flawless and full of youth; curiosity only brightened its tone.

"Who might you be?" Loki asked charily, avoiding the questions; his likenesses vanished and he returned the dagger to his sleeve. It was only a child.

"Rhil." The boy said in a matter-of-fact tone. Loki noticed that Rhil's ears were pointed, jutting back at either side of his head. Rhil began to walk towards Loki, eyes always staring; never blinking. Loki found Rhil's gaze unsettling and he looked down for a moment; only a moment.

Suddenly Loki found that he could not move. He felt a small and warm hand on his shoulder and the cold metal of a blade at his neck. He turned his head slowly, and carefully, and saw that the boy that had been standing in front of him was now grappled onto his back, holding a weapon to his throat. He looked at the blade; it was his own.

"You're very cold," the boy whispered into Loki's ear calmly. Loki could feel that boy's gaze burning into him.

"Do you know lots of magic?" he repeated, like a chant. Loki strained to stay calm.

'_By Valhalla, where am I?!' _Loki thought frantically.

"What will you do with your magic?" Rhil asked, his voice becoming distorted and raspy, making Loki's skin crawl.

"Yes, I know lots of magic," Loki began, warily, his mind racing.

"I am of Asgard."

Silence.

"Follow me." The boy said abruptly, his voice returning to its original state; he was now in front of Loki once again and still held the golden dagger. Loki felt a shiver run down his spine yet he followed the small child; what choice had he?

Rhil had taken Loki to a lush green meadow where neither stone nor tree could be found. Rhil led him into the meadow and then stopped abruptly. The tall grass began to sway and curve, shaping forms and forming shapes; the forms became people and the shapes became their features. All had the same golden brown hair as Rhil; all had slitted orange eyes, pure skin, and the same unblinking gaze; all had the same pointed ears jutting back. They wore only thin white robes to cover their perfectly slender bodies. They all stared at Loki.

Then sudden realization came to Loki. He was on Alfheim; home of the seer light elves.

"What business have you here, Asgardian?" a woman asked in a soothingly calm voice.

"Pray, I desire sanctuary from my pursuers." Loki replied coolly, running a slender hand slowly through his slick black hair. It suddenly became very quiet.

"We will not grant you sanctuary, by the gods of the nine realms we cannot," the whole of the elves voiced as one, all of them staring at him.

"Loki, god of mischief, you have been cast out of Asgard and sentenced by the Allfather to be cast into your prison of learning."

"How dare you condemn me in the name of Odin!" Loki cried in an outrage, partially from fear and partially from knowing that there was a good chance that they spoke the words of Odin himself.

'_Heimdall must be watching…' _Loki concluded haughtily, returning their stares with an icy glare that was just as piercing. Loki could hear the chant of the portals rising up from each elf's lips, swift and low in a whisper.

What was that word he heard? No, it couldn't be…Odin wouldn't dare. There it was again. Yes, it was unmistakably that place. All at once Loki realized that any magic of his would be useless at that point and that he truly was going to a prison. Rhil was the only one not reciting the incantation and was instead smiling at Loki as if to say: "good luck."

"I will end you." Loki promised with gritted teeth as the portal for Midgard opened beneath him and he dropped down into it.


	3. Midguard

Loki looked up at the faces of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, who were both lounging on the couch and had just been watching the television. Both people stared down in bewilderment at Loki's sudden appearance on the top floor of Stark Tower. Tony turned off the TV without looking away from Loki.

_'By Valhalla, not Stark's tower…of all places on Midguard…' _Loki thought with such disappointment. He was filled with outrage.

"Ehehe…" Loki chuckled nervously.

"Words…fail me…"

A mischievous grin spread on Tony's face, while Pepper remained fixed on their sudden visitor.

"Why, Pepper, I do believe we have a guest!" Tony said with a mocking Asguardian accent directed at Loki, making an unneeded and exaggerated gesture towards him.

Loki rolled his eyes and stood at his full height, looking down on the two mortals.

Tony placed his hand daintily on his chest and gaped up at Loki's height.

"My, so tall…"

"Tony," Pepper scolded, jutting her elbow into his ribs.

"Impudent little jester, aren't you?" Loki said with gritted teeth and a bitter smile. Putting out a hand, he called out a word that somehow caused his golden scepter to materialize in his open hand. He raised the scepter and pointed it towards Pepper.

Tony stood, placing himself in front of Pepper in an attempt to protect her, looking at the scepter warily.

"Pepper, get Banner on the intercom." Tony instructed casually.

"Sure…" Pepper replied slowly; she climbed clumsily over the couch and ran towards what Loki guessed to be an 'intercom', whatever _that _device was.

"I am surprised at you, Mister Stark, for leaving your woman unprotected." Loki said with a hint of a laugh in his voice. He leapt over Tony and the couch and lunged at Pepper, who was focused on the device in her hand.

"Jarvis, shields up!" Tony shouted, whipping around to see the bluish shields come up around the computers and Pepper just before Loki's bladed scepter could reach her.

Loki's scepter hit the shield with a muffled clang before sinking into and through it.

The blade pierced Pepper.

Pepper cried out in pain and Tony leapt over the sofa, his iron suit on without the helmet. He shoved Loki away with his artificial strength and tore out the blade from the shield, which had barely stabbed Pepper's arm; luckily for her.

"Damn it!" Pepper muttered through gritted teeth.

"It's not too deep." Tony sighed with relief.

Loki glanced at the wound he had inflicted on Pepper. He smiled; his stomach lurched, yet he quickly dismissed the feeling.

"It appears your shield is weaker than you would have wished." Loki taunted with a cruel grin, holding his chin high like a proud child who was getting his way.

Tony turned towards Loki as his helmet covered his glaring face.

"Fuck off." Tony growled before flying into Loki and sending the both of them smashing through the window.

Tony held Loki by his armored shoulders in the air, hundreds of feet from the solid pavement below them, right on the outside of Stark Tower.

"Didn't Thor take you back to Asguard three weeks ago?" Tony asked with a thoroughly annoyed tone.

"Indeed," Loki spat, clutching his scepter tightly.

"Yet Thor and Odin failed to restrain my wit."

Suddenly, Loki shot up into the sky and landed heavily on top of Stark Tower, cracking the surface with his sudden impact.

Loki tried to suppress a feeling of rising panic.

_What should I do? _He thought frantically. Then it occurred to him. He could travel to another world.

_Where would I go? _He thought after a moment.

Suddenly there was Tony, hovering in front of Loki.

Loki jumped in surprise as he was abruptly interrupted from his thoughts; he cursed himself for showing even the slightest hint of what Stark could see as weakness.

"Oh, did I scare you?" Tony jeered sarcastically before rushing at Loki at full throttle. Loki pushed off Stark's armor with an agile leap and glided through the air to a safe distance. He turned and glared.

All at once, Loki felt an all too familiar pang of metal crash into his arm. He turned swiftly to his new attacker as his scepter flew out of his hands and landed with a loud clang in front of Tony.

"Brother!" Thor roared and a bolt of lightning struck his hammer which had by then glided back into his hand.

"By the gods!" Loki muttered to himself, rubbing the arm that had been hit. Thor rushed at him with all his rage and promptly fell for one of Loki's old tricks once again; Loki reappeared behind Thor, chuckling to himself.

"Really, Thor, will there ever be a time when you don't fall for that trick?" Loki jeered with a grin.

Thor whipped around and glared.

"I grow weary of your games, brother," he boomed.

"Stop this madness! You walk the path only a fool would walk!"

Loki's grin disappeared instantly and he clenched his hands into fists. He vanished and appeared in front of Stark, scooping up his scepter before Tony could kick it out of reach. With graceful speed, Loki crashed the tip of the scepter into Stark's glowing heart and sent him bolting into another building.

Loki turned and stared at Thor, his face twisted in anger.

"Am I a fool?" he asked quietly. Thor was silent.

All at once, Loki faded and appeared behind Thor and stabbed the blade of his scepter through the strong Asguardian armor and Thor's side.

Thor shuddered and groaned with surprise and pain and swung his hammer back, catching Loki by surprise, as he seemed to be mesmerized by the wound he had just inflicted, and sent him flying to the edge of the rooftop.

Loki jumped up yet just then two iron fists bashed into his shoulders, sending him careening to the other side of the roof; his scepter clanged beside him and slid off the edge.

Loki's head spun from the sudden impact and the realization that the Allfather was in fact on his way to stop him. He fought off feelings of defeat and sat up.

'_I am a god!' _Loki thought with determination, forcing himself to stand.

Stark hovered nearby, his joints sparking, and his jets shorting out; he landed just before the jets went out for good.

Loki looked at Stark closely, straining to keep his eyes in focus. Tony put a hand to his chest and shuddered.

His glowing heart pulsed weakly; a large crack ran through the middle of it.

Loki felt a wave of triumph rise inside as his head slowly stopped spinning.

"Jarvis, what's the status on the filter?" Tony asked in a very casual tone; Loki, however, could hear the strain in it. Before hearing the reply, Loki shot a quick glance at Thor; he was kneeling, clutching his wound with one hand and gripping his hammer in the other.

"Power at fifty-six percent, sir." The mock British voice of the machine brought Loki's attention back to Stark suddenly.

"Son of a bitch…" Tony growled under his breath.

Tony suddenly bolted towards Thor and whispered something into the injured Asguardian's ear. Thor stood shakily and, with a pity-filled gaze at Loki, he began to swing his hammer in one hand, bellowing his striking call for thunder and lightning, as was his tool for his purpose.

Lightning struck, thunder heaved its mighty roar, and the blaze of platinum light playfully licked at the metal of Thor's hammer, dancing about in an array of vivid and blinding rays as they were soon absorbed by the hammer and its owner. Thor then shot the newly obtained bolts into the iron suit of Tony Stark and allowed them to be entirely consumed in the electric iron.

Loki's heart fell as he remembered what had happened the last time that Thor had shot lightning at Tony Stark. He summoned his scepter back into his hand and smiled at the bit of Tesseract still glowing and hovering about the base of the bladed section; with this he still had the knowledge of ancient magics and that was certainly enough to defeat these two persistent enemies. Recalling lost words and letters, spells formed in Loki's calming mind and the power began to charge quickly within the blue glow of the Tesseract.

"Oh no…not _you_ again…" a tired voice sighed from behind Loki.

Loki whipped around to see Bruce Banner standing calmly with a disgusted look on his face, and, upon breaking his concentration, the spell discharged from the scepter and struck Dr. Banner squarely on his broad chest.

Bruce heaved a muffled cry of pain as his voice grew deeper and his body amplified in size; his skin became the all-to-familiar sickly green stain as the result of the sudden shock of great pain. He could not control his transformation.

Loki sighed in annoyance and rolled his eyes, panic still managing to rise up inside of him, in spite of all his past efforts to calm himself; he had the Allfather, Thor, Stark, and now this green beast of rage all struggling against him.

"That's still just so damn cool!" Tony marveled from behind Loki, dangerously close. He heaved an iron fist at Loki.

Time seemed to slow for Loki.

He turned; Stark's fist flew towards his face with impossible speed; the Hulk roared and rumbled his discontent with everything in sight; Thor watched the skies for the Allfather. Loki felt his blood cool.

Just before Stark's fist smashed into Loki's face, he caught it and, as time slowly resumed its usual pace, a thick layer of ice covered the metal fist.

Loki concentrated.

The Hulk smashed by as Loki stepped to the side gracefully, still holding Tony's frozen fist. The ice seeped into the metal joints of the iron suit, the ice thickening the longer Loki touched it; his eyes shone scarlet and his skin began to change from a chilling pale to a frigid blue. He could feel the ache of cold soak his body, down to his bones. It hurt, yet Loki believed it to be necessity; this pain was the least of his worries; it was only minor.

Soon Tony could no longer move the right half of his suited body.

"What _are_ you?!" Tony wondered aloud, his voice full of more curiosity than fear. Loki was now half covered in the skin and likeness of a frost giant. He felt disgusted by the blue skin and his chilling Jӧten abilities.

"I am Asguardian." Loki growled quietly to Stark.

"Well so is Thor but he doesn't change into a tall icy Smurf!"

'Smurf.' What strange things mortal's talked of.

The Hulk leapt at Loki suddenly with a bellowing roar. Loki vanished and appeared behind the Hulk, lunging at the beast with the blade of the scepter. The gold metal struck hide-like flesh. With the help of the Tesseract, the blade managed to draw purple blood from the green skin. Swiftly Loki placed a cold hand on the quickly-healing wound and began freezing the Hulk from the inside out, letting his ice find its way into the bloodstream, and watched as the Hulk was tamed by the chill. The creature began to shrink and grew sluggish, teeth chattering as the Hulk became Bruce Banner once more. Dr. Banner shivered and hugged himself for warmth against Loki's touch.

Loki grinned; he had tamed the savage beast.

Loki was now covered in the blue skin. He ran a hand through his frost-stiffened hair and turned to face the half-frozen Tony Stark and the injured god. Tony's helmet was off and his face shone with curiosity and bewilderment. Thor stared in disbelief at Loki.

"Brother…" Thor's voice trailed off into a groan of pain.

Loki felt rage rise inside.

"I am not your brother! Look at me!" he raised his hands and gestured to himself.

"We were raised togeth—"

"We were not born together!" Loki spat.

Thor was silent for a moment.

"You are still my brother," Thor croaked, holding his bleeding wound tightly.

"Yet even now I can sense our Father travelling here!"

"Is that him?" Stark shouted from behind. Loki and Thor turned and at that moment, a booming voice blared out in their ears.

"Eurandheim! Send forth your Champion!"

Loki's heart fell; he knew that it was the voice of Odin. But who was Eurandheim; it struck him as familiar…

A bluish-white streak shot down from the sky and landed on Loki with a crash that caused the whole of the building to shudder, even more so than even the Hulk would have been able to manage. The roof gave in and Loki and the mysterious figure bathed in light fell through, falling directly in front of Pepper Potts.

Pepper squealed in surprise and quickly drew her legs to her chest as she leaned into the nearest corner of the wall, struggling to get as far away from Loki as she could.

"Unhand me!" Loki hissed, struggling under the glowing figure's seemingly effortless strength.

Loki found himself staring into the light, bathing in its warmth…

"Refrain from struggle." A calm but fierce voice soothed. Thor and the now unsuited Tony Stark jumped down through the hole in the roof, Thor holding a nude and shivering Dr. Banner over his shoulder. All eyes turned to the glowing visitor and Loki.

Loki stopped struggling and calmed himself almost instantly and sighed. He then focused on staring through the light, striving to see what manner of creature could hold him down with such ease and could keep him from his enchantments.

Black tendrils of hair, piercing violet eyes; healthy ivory skin, lean neck; long and lithe body bent over Loki's slim frame; soft and delicate fingers clutched Loki's wrists and lengthy legs crouched her over him.

Loki was awed by her beauty and had to struggle to catch his breath and wits back. When he again had air in his lungs and his wits about him, he became utterly calm, almost lethargic. He stared with glistening red eyes that soon began to fade into his familiar deep emerald color. Slowly Loki broke his gaze away and glanced and Thor, Tony, and Banner. Thor panted hard from his wound; Loki hadn't known just how much pain he had inflicted on the god. Tony's face was pale and beads of sweat began to form on his brow as the filter pulsed weakly.

"Tony, what's wrong with the filter?" Pepper asked quietly as her attention shifted from Loki and the visitor to Stark.

"Who are you?" Loki asked quietly to the woman. Under her impossible grip, Loki felt helpless and weak; it only puffed up his pride and made his rage burn hotter.

"Your captor," there was a hint of fire in her voice.

"Creature of Jӧtenheim." She spat the last word. Loki suddenly roared:

"DO NOT ADRESS ME AS SUCH A CREATURE! I AM RIGHTFUL KING OF ASGUARD!" his skin was no longer blue but as pale as ever and his eyes only flashed crimson for an instant in his fury. Tears rose to his eyes but he refused to let them fall on his cheeks.

The woman was quiet and a thoughtful look slowly crept its way onto her face; her grip loosened and Loki took that opportunity to slip away and kick her off. As she fell to the ground a few feet away from him, Loki bolted forwards and into the solid figure of Odin.


	4. fate

"Loki." Odin spoke quietly yet his voice held much natural power within.

Loki did not move. He sighed inwardly with many defeated thoughts trudging through his mind, and stared up at the Allfather's face; outward defiance glinted in his deep emerald eyes. Odin's gaze, although it only came from one eye, unnerved Loki and pierced into him with such righteous justice and judgment that made him glare at Odin menacingly.

Odin placed a hand on Loki's shoulder to ensure no struggle from him.

"Allfather." The mysterious woman bowed her head respectfully towards the father of immortal gods. The Allfather gave a curt nod in return, never letting his attention wander from Loki.

"You have chosen this foolish and desolate path," Odin began, projecting his voice in such a way so that the onlookers would hear his every word.

"You have taken the lives of the innocent and have disgraced your holy Asguardian heritage."

The corners of Loki's mouth curled in a bitter grin when the Allfather mentioned his heritage. _'But it is not my heritage…in truth…'_ he thought sorely, letting his eyes slowly meet with those of his enemies, holding their gazes until they one by one looked away; all but that mysterious woman.

Loki could feel the defeat begin to overwhelm him; he had fought each one of them for so long; he was tired.

"Loki, Odinson, for all your false pride," Odin continued.

Loki felt a surge of energy run through him from Odin's strong hand.

"For all your vices against the mortal race,"

Loki fell to his knees as a weakness flooded over his senses.

'_Surely Odin would not…'_

"For all the unsolved demons within, I take your heritage, your magic, and I curse you with mortality!" Odin roared.

Judgment had passed.

Tears fell freely from Loki's eyes as realization and stubborn disbelief weakened him into his now deepened sorrow; the Allfather had once again abandoned him.

Loki frantically pulled a golden dagger from his sleeve, found the strength to stand, and lunged at Odin, his tears blinding him in his rage and disappointment.

Odin turned his body quickly and Loki saw, also turning his body and using the momentum to drive the dagger close. Suddenly the dagger fell from Loki's hand, as a warning yell left Thor's lips, and the mysterious woman grappled Loki's arms back and forced him back down to his knees once again like a slave in the presence of a great King; he could feel magic surging through her.

"Odin!" Loki screamed, hot and heavy tears streaking his reddened face.

"Why must you torment me? You shattered all truth I had known by raising me in a lie!" Loki watched with blurred eyes as Odin's face betrayed weariness beyond repair with every spoken word.

"If this be not the true path, if this be foolish; if this is madness, then it is a madness that _you_ have conjured with your lies!"

Odin walked over to his screaming son and kneeled to his level.

"Loki, one day you may understand why I have acted against you with such measures, yet now you must sort the demons inside yourself. If you cannot change your path, those of Alfheim will have legal contract with your soul, and then, even I will not have power enough to save you." Odin said in a quiet tone that made everyone else in the room strain to hear his words. He extended a fatherly hand and gently touched Loki's forehead, like he had done for so many years when Loki was a young prince swaddled in the safe lies and ignorance that Odin had shaped with so much care.

'_No!' _Loki thought as his mind and body grew suddenly heavy.

'_This cannot be my reality!'_

All went black.

What do you see, wife of Odin? You gaze intently into the pool beneath Yggdrasil, the tree of worlds; each root, each branch, a netherland to Asguard yet so curious they make themselves to be to you and you people.

What do you search for?

Ah.

An image forms, one of quick-moving pictures. There you see struggle; hopeless struggle, having wont to change a consequence that is eminent to them that bears it; and still they fight against it, blind to defeat that is sure to follow their meaningless toil.

Who is it you watch so attentively?

A face now forms on that pool's untroubled surface.

Tell me, mother of Thor, what you are feeling; tell me of your suffering, your shattered dreams; your hopes.

Ah…

You hope for redemption, not for yourself but for _his_; you dream of his return, new and changed, acceptable to this godly society that you and your husband have created. You know he will not change so willingly yet you feel that in time he might find that this is the sort of life he needs, not the road to damnation and betrayal that he had brought upon himself.

There, a face.

Once pale,

Then blue-hued,

Now pale once more.

"My son" you say;

"Come home" you say

Who is it that you watch?

Ah.

Loki.

That adopted son of Jӧtenheim; he is truly lost in mind and soul, so unpredictable even to myself. So, you think he is still worthy to be called prince of Asguard? We shall see in time.

You keep watching, looking, searching; finding disappointments.

Who is that? That face…a woman.

Ah, you are looking deeper; the power of the seers has found you. Futures appear and vanish; what is her fate?

You are smiling now; what did you see?

Loki and…that woman.

Though I am Fate, I know not all futures; I know not the doom of Loki Laufeyson.

And that woman? Keep watch, O wife of Odin, for my hand guides this one, and has for many an eon.

Where is she from, you ask?

Her name?

Do you wish to put the pieces of Loki's distracted future together so soon?

Very well.

Her name is…


End file.
